Cooling device for stereotype molds



March 2, 1965 D. E. su'rToN ETAL 3,171,168

COOLING DEVICE FOR STEREOTYPE MOLDS Filed July 2, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FLW Vhs/mgm- 1 l .lllllllllllllllll llllllxllllulllllllilllll ILFIIIL ATTORNYS March 2, 1965 D. E. SUTTON ETAL 3,171,168

COOLING DEVICE FOR STEREOTYPE MOLDS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 2, 1962 INVENTORS. DONALD E. SUTTON JESSE LLOYD SANTEE MM @M4 ATTORNEYS March 2, 1965 D. E. suT-roN E'rAl.

COOLING DEVICE FOR STEREOTYPE MOLDS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 2, 1962 INVENTORS. DONALD E. SUTTON JESSE LLOYD SANTEE` IMM MMM my ATTORNEYS United States Patent O CQLING DEVICE FOR STEREOTYPE MGI/DS Donald E. Sutton, Comstock Township, Kalamazoo County, and l esse Lloyd Santee, Allegati, Mich., assignors to Hammond Machinery Builders, Ine., Kalamazoo,

Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed July 2, 1962, Ser. No. 266,6S1 7 Claims. (Si. 22-4) This invention relates to the casting of printers plates and it relates particularly to means for cooling a casting box for stereotype plates.

ln the casting of printing plates, particularly stereotype plates, the casting box is in most cases permitted to cool merely by radiating its heat into the surrounding atmosphere but in some cases it is cooled more rapidly by the application of a cooling medium thereto. Where a particular casting device is to be used for only low-production purposes, it is satisfactory to permit such cooling into the surrounding atmosphere and large numbers ofv printers casting boxes of this type have heretofore been i manufactured and sold. On the other hand, where a given casting box is to be used for higher production, then it is desirable to accelerate the operational cycle of same by providing for more rapid cooling ofthe type metal within the casting box and special cooling means for this purpose have been employed.

ln providing such special cooling means, the art has previously utilized arrangements involving water cooling and this has introduced problems which have tended to restrict the use of casting boxes provided with this type of cooling equipment. Some of these problems are:

(l) The application of cooling water to a box filled with hot type-metal tends to promote warpage thereof. This tendency of warpage can be, and in present practice is, resisted by suitable ribbing and other known techniques, but the problem is present nevertheless.

(2) Water-cooling requires permanent connections to a given casting box. This is sometimes'inconvenient to install and the casting box cannot be conveniently moved from one place of use to another.

(3) Leaks can occur and mineral deposits from the water can clog the water passageways, both of which create maintenance problems. Y

(4) The normal design of a water-cooled casting box` is that the nonrnoving portion thereof is cooled whereas from the standpoint of producing a better product by chilling quickly the printing face of the cast, the cooling medium should be applied to both beds of the casting box o. it is feasible to cool only one of said beds, such eooiii should be applied to the bed which is normally and against which the printing face of the stereoix rests. i ne means employed to apply the cooling medium casting box are necessarily built permanently into ine at the time of its original manufacture. Thus, where a casting box is originally purchased by a customer in the thought that it will not be used under e nditions likely to require other cooling than by ambient air, where the conditions of its use change so that more rapid cooling thereof is desired, it is impossible, excepting at a cost A is usually prohibitive, to provide for more rapid cooling of such casting box.

"lli-erstere, the objects of the invention include: l) To provide apparatus for cooling the casting box stereotype casting device which means will be effece and uniform in operation. l (2) To provide a device, as aforesaid, which will be inexpensive to manufacture and install into operating position.

(3) To provide apparatus, as aforesaid, which will etiect such control over casting box temperatures as to avoid localized Zones of substantial temperature difference.

(4) To provide apparatus, as aforesaid, which can be readily applied to existing equipment of standard types without other than very minor, it any, modi'iation of such equipment. Y

(5) To provide apparatus, as aforesaid, which will be inexpensive to manufacture, easy to install into operating position, equally easy to remove if and when desired, and which will operate satisfactorily over a long period of time at low operating and maintenance costs.

(6) To provide apparatus, as aforesaid, which will require no external or special connections other than electrical. Y

Other objects and purposes of the invention will be apparent to persons acquainted with devices of this general type upon reading the following disclosure and inspecting the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE l is an oblique view of a standard type of presently manufactured stereotype casting box with which the invention is particularly adapted to be used. Y

FIGURE 2 is an oblique view of only the casting box unit shown in FIGURE 1 but taken from a slightly diifer- Y ent angle and showing one operating position.

FIGURE 3 is an oblique View taken from the opposite side of the casting box Vunit shown in FIGURE 2 and showing the other of the cooling devices in operating position.

FIGURE 4 is a top View of the cooling device shown in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 5 is a front elevational view of the cooling device shown in FIGURE 2 taken from the direction indicated bythe line V-V of IGURE. 4.

FIGURE 6 is a side elevational view of the device shown in FIGURE 2 taken from the direction indicated by the line VI-Vl of FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 7 is a top view of the cooling device shown in FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 8 is a facing elevational view of the device shown in FIGURE 3 taken from the direction indicated by the line VIII-VIII in FIGURE 7.

FIGURE 9 is a side elevation of the device shown in FIGURE 3 taken from the direction indicated by the line IX-E( of FIGURE 8.

FIGURE l0 is a section taken on the line X-X of FIGURE 2 showing, however, the casting box structure itself in phantom lines.

FIGURE 11 is a section taken on the lines XI-XI of FIGURE 10 and again showing the casting box itself in phantom lines.

FIGURE l2 is an elevational, partially broken, View of the cooling device Vof FIGURE 8 and showing same mounted in operating position.

FIGURE 13 is a sectional, partially broken, view taken on line XIIl-XIII of FIGURE 12.

of the cooling devices in General description For meeting the objects and purposes above set forth, the invention contemplates providing a fan and a hood arranged adjacent the respective sides or" the casting box to be cooled and arranged for directing ambient air against the casting box, causing said air to flow across the entirety thereof and thence to escape around the periphery of' the hood. Due to the turbulence of the air, and its entering the hooded Zone-with'a somewhat spiral motion, it sweeps all areas of the casting box within the confines of the hood and hence acts with a high degree of uniformity with respect thereto for withdrawing heat Patented Mar. 2, 1955 Y aina-a Detailed description In describing the preferred embodiment of the invention chosen to illustrate same, Certain terminology will be used which will be recognized as chosen for reference purposes and same will be recognized as intended solely to describe the invention and as having no limiting meaning. For example, the terms forward and rearward will be taken in the direction toward and away from the side faced by the operator in normal operation thereof. That is, the left-hand side appearing in FIGURE 1, which is the side also appearing in FIG- URE 2, will be taken as forward and the opposite side, namely, the side shown in FIGURE 3 will be taken as rearward. The terms upward and downward will refer to directions with respect to the apparatus in its normal position of use as shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3. The terms rightward and leftward will be taken with respect to the apparatus as shown in the several drawings and will refer to the particular drawing under consideration in connection with which such terminology is used. The terms inward and outward will be taken with respect to the geometric center of the `apparatus. All of the terms will include derivatives of the words above specifically mentioned as well as words of similar import.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, there is shown for the purpose of imparting a clear understanding of the invention, a casting box in association with a melting pot from which metal is supplied to said casting box. It will be recognized that this particular casting box and associated equipment is chosen solely for illustrative purposes and the invention is by no means limited thereto. Briefly, the casting box consists of a rearward fixed boxhalf 1 mounted on a carrier 2 and a forward movable box-half 3 arranged for cooperation with the rearward box-half 1. A cavity is defined between said forward and said rearward box-halvesl within which the printing plate is cast. The forward box-half is mounted through a linkage of which two links are shown at 6 and 7 onto a pivot rod 8 (FIGURE 2). Suitable rollers, not shown, are arranged at the sides of the forward box-half 3 and run in a pair of tracks of which one appears at 9 for guiding said forward box-half as same is moved from the position shown in FIGURE 1 into its open position for the removal of a cast printing plate therefrom. Handles, of which one appears at 11, provide for manually operating said movable box-half in a known manner. The pair of handles of which one appears at 12 acts' through suitable shaft and link mechanism 13, 13a and 13b (FIGURES 2 and 13) to operate the clamps 14 and 14a which act against bars 15 and 15a on the forward box-half 3 by which the two box-halves are clamped rigidly together when metal is poured thereinto.

The furnace generally indicated at 16 provides a melting pot 17 and suitable discharge means 1S for conveying metal in a known manner into the casting box. The cart and mold 19 are provided as set forth in more detail in application Serial Nos. 40,725 and 128,147 assigned to the same assignee as the present application,

for casting pigs from the same furnace 16 as that which supplies the stereotype casting box above described. Application Serial No. 40,725 issued as Patent No. 3,057,025 October 9, 1962 and application Serial No. 128,147 isissued as Patent 3,130,460 April 28, 1964.

Turning now first to the means for cooling the forward box-half 3, there is shown in FIGURE 2 a housing 21 and a fan unit 22 associated therewith. The housing 21 comprises a top sheet 23 having a plurality of slots therein of which one appears at 24 (FIGURES 2 and 4), which slots embrace the ribs 2S of said boxhalf 3. The bottom sheet 26 (FIGURES 10 and 11) is likewise slotted for the reception thereinto of the lower end of said ribs. The front sheet 27 connects the top and bottom sheets 23 and 26 and the side sheets 28 and 29 complete the housing structure. 29 are both spaced from the unribbed surface 31 (FIG- URE l0) of the forward casting box-halfja distance 30 suiiicient to permit flow of air out from the zone dened by the housing 21 by passing under the sidesl 28` and 29.

A central portion of the front sheet 27 is provided with an opening 32 and a motor mounting and fan controlling shroud 33 is mounted`aroun`d the edge of said opening 32. Said shroud 33 is mounted-in any convenient manner, such as by a series of brackets of which one is indicated at 34 (FIGURE 2). Said shroud contains a suitable motor bracket 36 for supporting the niotor- 37 which motor is connected for direct driving of a fan 33 aligned in front of the opening 32.

Suitable openings 41 and 41a are provided in both of the sides 28 and 29 for the reception of the clamping bars 1S and 15a, respectively.

The housing 21 is mounted to the box-half 3 in any convenient manner such as by a plurality of screws 4Z and 43 mounting the front sheet 27 thereof onto the clamping bar 15 and by similar screws extending into clamping bar 15a.

The rearward box-half 1 is similarly provided with a housing 51 carrying a fan unit 52. Said housing 51 has a top sheet 53 having recesses 54 for embracing the ribs 55 of the rear box-half 1 in the same manner as above described with respect to the forward housing 21. In this embodiment, said top sheet 53 has detiectors 53a and 53b for protecting the pilot ame associated with the discharge means 1S, from being blown out by air exhausting from the cooling device 51. The bottom sheet 56 of the housing 51 is similarly provided withv slots for embracing said ribs 55. The housing 51 has a vertical sheet 57 connecting the upper and lower sheets, the same being provided with an opening 58 around which is arranged a shroud 59 on which is mounted a bracket 61 for holding a motor 62 which in turn supports and drives a fan 63, said fan 63 being arranged in front of the opening 58. The housing 51 also has sidesheets 64 and 66 connecting the top and bottom sheets 53 and 56, saidside sheets being cach provided with upper and lower slots 67 yand 68 for embracing the upper and lower clamp rods 13 and 13a.

The rear housing 51 is fastened rigidly in place onto the rear box-half 1 in any convenient manner such as in this case by posts, or spacers, of which two appear at 69 and 71 (FIGURE 13). These posts are supported on any convenient means, such as on the screws 72 and 73 (FIGURE l2) which help to hold the bearing housings 74 and 76y in place. The rear housing 51 is then fastened to said posts by suitable screws, here four in number and appearing at 77, 78, 79 and 81.

It will be apparent that the specific housing means and air-moving means set forth herein to illustrate the invention may be varied widely, particularly to t whatever specic design of casting box may be concerned, within the scope of the invention and the particular housings and air-moving devices herein utilized to illustrate the invention are for illustrative purposes only and are not limiting.

Although a particular preferred embodimentl of the invention has been disclosed herein for illustrative purposes, it will be understood that the variations or modifications of such disclosure, which lie within the scope of theappended claims, are fully contemplated.

What is claimed is:

1. In a mold having a cavity for casting relatively thin plates of relatively large surface area, the combination comprising: t

a pair of mold halves and means mounting said mold Said sheets 28 and.

halves for relative movement for opening and closing said mold;

a housing mounted on and supported by at least one of said mold halves, said housing having a base wall and side walls extending in substantially the same direction from said base wall toward the outside surface of said one mold half and defining therewith a chamber through which air may flow;

means defining a large substantially central opening through said base wall of said housing opposite said outside surface and impeller means mounted on and supported by said base wall and disposed within said opening for forcing air through said opening and into said chamber whereby said air will impinge upon said surface of said mold near the center thereof;

means allowing said air to escape from said housing at points along the major portions of the side walls of said housing adjacent said surface whereby the ow of said air over the surface of said mold half moves from the central portion toward the edge portions thereof in directions substantially parallel with said surface to provide control of the temperature of said mold half.

2. The mold of claim l wherein the perimeter of said housing is adjacent but spaced inwardly from the perimeter of said one mold half whereby air exiting said housing travels along and controls the temperature of the portion of said mold half outside said housing.

3. In a mold construction, the combination comprising:

a mold half having an essentially planar outer face having a plurality of projecting, criss-crossing ribs; a substantially rectangular, cup-shaped housing detachably secured to said mold half and having a base wall substantially parallel to said planar face of said mold half and spaced therefrom and from said ribs, said Ibase wall having an enlarged opening therethrough and approximately centrally located therein for the admittance of air into the chamber dened between said base wall and said face of said mold half;

side walls fixed to said base wall and extending therefrom toward and to points adjacent said ribs, whereby air may flow out of said chamber between said side walls and said face;

top and bottom walls fixed to said base wall and extending therefrom toward and to points adjacent said face, said top and bottom walls having slots for receiving said ribs therein and the portions of said top and bottom walls between said slots extending past said ribs toward said face, whereby to control the flow of air out of said chamber around said top and bottom walls, said housing being fixed to and entirely supported by said mold half.

4. A mold construction according to claim 3, including a shroud mounted on said base wall around said opening and extending away from said face of said mold half and an axial flow fan mounted within said shroud.

5. A mold construction according to claim 4, including a second mold half having a housing mounted thereon, said second mold half housing being constructed in substantially the same fashion as the first-mentioned housing;

clamp means for clamping said mold halves together;

said side walls of both housings having slots therethrough for receiving said clamp means.

6. In a casting box for making printing plates having a pair of box-halves defining a plate-forming cavity therebetween and a base and means mounting said boxhalves on said base for permitting movement thereof toward and away from each other to open and close said cavity, the improvement comprising:

a substantially cup-shaped housing mounted on at least one of the box-halves at the outer side thereof opposite said cavity, said housing having a base wall spaced from said outer side of said box-half and having sidewalls extending substantially to said outer side close to the peripheral edges thereof whereby said housing and said outer side define a chamber;

means defining an opening in the central region of said base wall and a fan mounted 'on said housing for directing cooling air through said opening into said chamber; and

means for allowing air to escape from said chamber adjacent the perimeter of said housing whereby the ow of air through said chamber will cool said boxhalf, said last-named means including termination of said side walls of said housing at a line suiiiciently and substantially uniformly spaced from said boxhalf to permit the flow of exiting air between the side walls and said one box-half.

7. In a casting box for making printing plates having a pair of box-halves defining a plate-forming cavity therebetween and a base and means mounting said box-halves on said base for permitting movement thereof toward and away from each other to open and close Said cavity, the improvement comprising:

a substantially cup-shaped housing mounted on at least one of said box-halves at the outer side thereof opposite said cavity, said housing having a base wall spaced from said outer side of said box-half and having side walls extending substantially to said outer side close to the peripheral edges thereof whereby said housing and said outer side define a chamber, said one box-half having a plurality of outwardly extending ribs on its outer side, the upper and lower side wal-ls of said housing having slots therein which embrace said ribs, the portions of said side walls between said slots extending into the spaces between said ribs and toward the portion of said box-half between said ribs;

means defining an opening in the central region of said base wall and a fan mounted on said housing for directing cooling air through said opening into said chamber; and

means for allowing air to escape from said chamber adjacent the perimeter of said housing whereby the iiow of air through said chamber will cool said boxhalf, said last-named means including termination of said side walls of said housing at a line suiiciently spaced from said box-half as to permit the iiow of exiting air between said side walls and said one box-half.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,610,763 12/26 Fisher 22-5 1,670,614 5/28 Dostal 22-177 1,685,546 9/28 Lee 22-177 1,907,130 5/33 Summey 22--177 3,093,189 6/63 Panthofer 165-122 MICHAEL V. BRINDISI, Primary Examiner. RAY K. WINDHAM, MARCUS U. LYONS, Examiners. 

1. IN A MOLD HAVING A CAVITY OF CASTING RELATIVELY THIN PLATES OF RELATIVELY LARGE SURFACE AREA, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING: A PAIR OF MOLD HALVES AND MEANS MOUNTING SAID MOLD HALVES FOR RELATIVE MOVEMENT FOR OPENING AND CLOSING SAID MOLD; A HOUSING MOUNTED ON AND SUPPORTED BY AT LEAST ONE OF SAID MOLD HALVES, SAID HOUSING HAVING A BASE WALL AND SIDE WALLS EXTENDING IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME DIRECTION FROM SAID BASE WALL TOWARD THE OUTSIDE SURFACE OF SAID ONE MOLD HALF AND DEFINING THEREWITH A CHAMBER THROUGH WHICH AIR MAY FLOW; MEANS DEFINING A LARGE SUBSTANTIALLY CENTRAL OPENING THROUGH SAID BASE WALL OF SAID HOUSING OPPOSITE SAID OUTSIDE SURFACE AND IMPELLER MEANS MOUNTED ON AND SUPPORTED BY SAID BASE WALL AND DISPOSED WITHIN SAID OPENING FOR FORCING AIR THROUGH SAID OPENING AND INTO SAID CHAMBER WHEREBY SAID AIR WILL IMPINGE UPON SAID SURFACE OF SAID MOLD NEAR THE CENTER THEREOF; MEANS ALLOWING SAID AIR TO ESCAPE FROM SAID HOUSING AT POINTS ALONG THE MAJOR PORTIONS OF THE SIDE WALLS OF SAID HOUSING ADJACENT SAID SURFACE WHEREBY THE FLOW OF SAID AIR OVER THE SURFACE OF SAID MOLD HALF MOVES FROM THE CENTRAL PORTION TOWARD THE EDGE PORTIONS THEREOF IN DIRECTIONS SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL WITH SAID SURFACE TO PROVIDE CONTROL OF THE TEMPERATURE OF SAID MOLD HALF. 